Like Sparkling Disco Balls
by hummingbirds2
Summary: Fifty years into the future, the boredom showed on the sparkling, ageless face of Bella Cullen. Meeting Sookie Stackhouse at Fangtasia on Dracula Night could change all that! A seriously-silly, mashed-up tale of love, loss, friendship, betrayal and sparkling disco balls. AU Inspired by Random Fandom's Monster Mash-up Challenge


Disclaimer: The Sookie Stackhouse universe and characters belong to Charlaine Harris. The Twilight universe and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I am only playing with them. Thank you.

Inspired by the Random-Fandom. net Monster Mash-Up Crossover Challenge

Dracula, Happy Halloween!

* * *

**You Can't Always Get What You Want**

On the sparkling, ageless face of Bella Cullen, the boredom showed. Her lips pulled down at the corners and pursed in an unattractive pout. Near her home of three years, outside Minden in northern Louisiana, she stood alone watching the day pass into night. In the gathering gloom, the lakeside still teemed with life, not human though, and not Bella's, of course. She was dead - fifty or so years' worth of dead, in fact.

Not that Bella had a problem with being dead. Well ... maybe just one. Being as dead as a vampire actually meant, that she would be 'alive' for a very long time. She wasn't complaining though. She had got her way. She had wanted to live, even though it meant dying, to be with Edward forever and ever and ever. It was just that forever was … a very, long time.

The sun set. Bella lost her sparkle, in more ways than one.

She hadn't lost her speed though! In a flash she hunted down a tasty feral cat and neatly drank her fill. During the silence following the kill, Bella regarded the drained carcass with distaste. Lately, she hadn't felt very vegetarian. _Perhaps I should buy some of that True Blood, the synthetic blood the non-sparkly vampires drink, _she thought_._ Bella reasoned that then, she wouldn't have to kill at all.

She'd always felt sorry for the vampires who went all 'crispy', not sparkly, in the sunshine, but at least they didn't _have_ to kill to eat. And although the 'crispies', as Emmett called the non-sparklers, only livened up at night, they were able to live those night-lives openly. Not like the Cullens.

Bella sighed.

Sparkling vampires, like her, still lived in hiding, at least from humans. The Volturi had decreed that they come out to supernaturals and their associates only. That figured! The Volturi hadn't changed their deadly, dining habits, so alerting humans, their prey, to the way they liked to eat… Well, it just wasn't going to happen. In the end, each group of vampires, sparkly or non-sparkly, agreed to keep themselves to themselves. And the humans in the dark, so to speak.

Bella huffed out a breath, just for the hell of it! For the first time in fifty-ish years, Edward was away without her, and she didn't know what to do to fill her days and nights. Just thinking of Edward made her longing for his presence greater, but he had headed north to Forks with Jacob and Renesmee, who were going to spend time with Jacob's family. He'd gone to help Jacob make sure the pack welcomed Renesmee. She was half vampire after all!

Bella had stayed behind. She hadn't wanted to return to Forks, not now that her father was dead. Her own dead heart ached at the very thought of that final loss. Every one of her human family and old friends were gone now. Her world just felt different knowing all those people were dead and gone. Forever! And now her child had left home too. Maybe that was what was unsettling her. She'd wanted things to stay the same forever. She hadn't wanted things to change.

On a sudden gust of wind, the scent of dry vampire shifted her attention. Bella welcomed the distraction. She threw up her mental shield, just in case it was needed. Turning, she saw him, gliding through the trees, making straight for her. As a human, this vampire's rhinestones had sparkled, and even though he sparkled no more, Bella had a soft spot for this 'crispy'.

"Miss Bella," the vampire messenger from Sheriff Eric Northman said, when he stood before her, "I see you like cats, just like I do." He grinned, pearly white.

Bella was honest. "Not quite as much as you do, Bubba, but yes, it made a good meal. Sometime, I might try a synthetic, like True Blood, though."

Bubba grimaced. 'Synthetic's alright, but nothin's as good as a tasty Tabby." He looked down wistfully at the cat's corpse, still at Bella's feet.

Bella waited. There was no need to rush the vampire. They had time.

Eventually, a slightly fangy-looking Bubba refocused on Bella and handed her an envelope. "Dracula Night - Come As You Are," he explained. "'No fuss,' the Sheriff said. That's because Dracula's never shown up, not in all the years the party's been happening."

Bella slit the envelope with a sharp fingernail and extracted the invitation. The party was tonight at Fangtasia! It must be the annual celebration for Count Dracula's birthday, she realized. Every year the Sheriff sent invitations through his emissary, Bubba, to the Cullens, but they had always made their excuses. Dracula was not their type of vampire, after all. And anyway, they kept themselves to themselves. Tonight, Bella felt differently. Tonight, she needed a distraction from her … distraction. She needed to get her … sparkle back! Or at the very least, a twinkle!

Bubba fidgeted. 'I gotta get back to Fangtasia now, Miss Bella. I gotta look after Miss Sookie, the Sheriff's wife. She's gettin' real old for a human, but she'll be there. She likes to spend time with her vampire family. Most of her human friends 'n family's dead now."

Bella suddenly felt a kinship with this Miss Sookie. They were probably about the same age, give or take a decade or so, and they'd both lost their human friends and family. _Sookie Stackhouse_. She'd heard the name and she'd remembered it, because Sookie Stackhouse was a vampire's human-ish wife, and one who wouldn't be turned, one who'd made the opposite choice to her. The woman was talented too. Bella knew Sookie could read other people's thoughts, just like Edward, and she could shield as well, keeping out the thoughts or glamours of others. _Just like me_. Bella's curiosity stirred. Surely, in the interests of peaceful co-existence between the vampire species, accepting the invitation would be a good thing.

Bella decided. "I'll come with you, Bubba, just as I am."

"That's right. Come as you are, like the invitation says," Bubba replied, looking mighty pleased.

* * *

_Fangtasia_! _What a change from a usual evening in my secluded home_, Bella thought. The music pumped and pounded along with the people and the vampires within. No tinkling ivories here! It might have been early, but the place was heaving with bodies out to have a good time. Many had come as they were, but just as many were dressed up as Dracula lookalikes, capes and all. Through the flashing lights of the disco balls and the press of flesh, Bubba led the way to a more private VIP section.

As she expected, Bella spotted a white-haired, elderly lady. Sookie Stackhouse, she presumed. Resting in a comfortable chair, the octogenarian had an excellent view of the fangy festivities. That's if her eyes could focus, Bella observed. And what was with the crazy grin plastered across the leathery cheeks. _Was the Sheriff's wife a little crazy in her old age?_

Bubba broke into Bella's thoughts, as he bent down and spoke into the old lady's ear. "Miss Sookie, look who I got here." Miss Sookie made the effort to focus her bleary blues on Bubba's face. "It's Miss Bella, a sparkler," he said. "She likes cats like me."

Sookie relaxed her crazy-looking grin to give Bubba a warm smile in welcome. Then, her eyes found Bella's. "Goodness, you're a long way from home," Sookie said, in a surprised, but soothing southern drawl. She clearly knew who Bella was. "Sit a-while. Company would be nice." She patted the seat next to her. "And call me Sookie."

Bella sat. "Call me, Bella," she said, happy to know that Sookie Stackhouse was lucid after all.

Bubba must have still been thinking about cats, because he said, "Speaking of drinks, would you like anything, Miss Sookie? Miss Bella?"

"A lemonade would be lovely, Bubba."

"I think I'll try that True Blood you have," answered Bella, now wearing a slightly crazy grin herself. She knew this would be a first, something new! She felt giddy, excited even! Maybe she had got too set in her ways; a little change might be a good thing, she suddenly realized.

"I'll just tell Mr Eric I'm here," Bubba said, looking around.

"He's over there," Sookie told him, nodding towards the very rear of the VIP lounge, "with none other than Dracula himself!"

Bubba's face was a picture. Shock and awe flickered across his well-known features. "Mr Eric will be so happy."

"That's putting it mildly, Bubba," Sookie chuckled, with a twinkle in her eye. "Dracula just walked in off the street. Eric and Drac… That's what we're calling him now. They hit it off, as soon as they clapped eyes on each other. They've both been flying around, all over Fangtasia, trying to outdo one another. After Drac turned into a bat and took to the rafters, he stole the show a bit though. But Eric didn't mind. Not one batty bit."

"Should I go over?" asked Bubba.

"Sure, you should. Let him know Bella's here too. They're just working out where Drac's coffin's going to be put. It's big and heavy. Full of his home soil, you know. Just a fetish he has, sleeping in his own dirt!"

After relaying the drinks' order to a passing waitress, Bubba left, and Bella followed him with her eyes to his destination. She recognized the Sheriff, who was looking adoringly into the face of a dark-haired vampire wearing swim shorts, of all things. Dracula, she guessed. _Maybe that's why he wears a cape most of the time_, she mused. _Dracula has terrible dress sense_. Still watching, Bella saw Drac's face light up when Bubba approached_. Perhaps, they'll compare cape stories_.

"It's like a mutual admiration society, isn't it?" Sookie said, interrupting Bella's thoughts.

Bella nodded, and focused her attention on Sookie.

"How is your family?" Sookie asked.

"We're all healthy, naturally, but my husband, Edward and our child, Renesmee are away in Forks right now. I miss them. A lot."

Sookie looked surprised. She'd heard Edward and Bella never separated. "Forks. That's where you came from before Minden, isn't it?"

"Yes, Forks was home, but I'm not ready to return just yet. My human family and friends from there are all dead now. And I miss them too. "

Sookie nodded in understanding. "I've lived longer than anyone probably ever expected me to, and most of my human family and friends are all gone now. I like being Aunt Sookie to my friends' children out in Bon Temps ... that's where I live … but I love my vampire 'family' too, even my husband, Eric." Sookie winked.

Bella saw the warmth in Sookie's eyes as she spoke her husband's name. "But you haven't turned," she said, in a perplexed tone. "What will happen to your husband, the Sheriff, when you die? His sorrow will be with him forever." _And forever is a very long time_.

Sookie smiled, enjoying the vampire's forthrightness. "Ah, but he will have fond memories of me, and I'm sure Eric and I will meet again in the life hereafter. After all, no one is truly immortal; death comes to us all in the end." Sookie spoke those last few words in a spooky voice, so she wouldn't sound too serious, but she meant it when she said, "I have made peace with my choice."

Bella remained silent. Sookie's words had struck a chord. She had fond memories, very clear memories, of all those dear to her, especially those departed forever. She would have those memories always. _Maybe, I should make peace with my own choice_, she thought.

Sookie had continued, happy to reminisce. "….In fact, I've had a very interesting human-ish life, and Eric has made the most of it too. He's opportunistic. That's his way. Through every stage, we've found a way to make the most of it." Sookie caught Bella's eye. "Of course, Eric's not exactly pleased that I stayed human, but he's accepted my choice. I didn't want to eat people, or never see the sunshine again. To say nothing about becoming violent, or being controlled, because I was someone's vampire child. It wasn't for me."

Bella raised an eyebrow. "My sparkling vampirism might have suited you better then. We have the day, although we still have to hide at the moment. I could eat people, but I never have. We, Cullens, are peaceful, unless we're threatened. And nobody controls us, not how you mean. Sookie, you might have liked turning sparkly and living with Eric forever," Bella concluded.

Sookie nodded, seeing Bella's logic. "Perhaps I could have turned sparkly. Keeping the day, keeping Eric and keeping my own mind might have been a very attractive proposition."

A smiling waitress interrupted the conversation to deliver their drinks.

Bella and Sookie sipped quietly, each thinking their own thoughts, until Bella burst out, "Wow, this True Blood is good!" She licked her lips, and went back for another swig. "Better than a cat any day. But don't tell Bubba I said that!" She winked at Sookie. "It's my first synthetic, you know. Maybe, I could become a real vegetarian now, and not even kill animals to eat."

Sookie looked impressed. "I don't know that I could ever become a vegetarian. I do like a nice steak, straight off the grill, even though these old teeth of mine have lost a bit of their bite!"

Then, without warning, Sookie moaned; her eyes crossed, then closed. Bella acted fast, taking the drink from Sookie's trembling hand and placing it on the table. The old lady seemed to be in some distress. Sookie's face screwed up. In concentration? Or was she passing wind? Bella wasn't sure.

Almost instantaneously, Eric, Dracula and Bubba were next to them. Eric had heard the moan.

"Shields?" Eric asked, quietly speaking in Sookie's ear.

"Uh huh," said Sookie. "My shields… I can't keep them up. I've been having problems with them all night... Too many thoughts in my head." Sookie grimaced, teeth clenched.

"What is wrong?" Dracula asked. Eric's human wife suddenly looked not only old, but crazy. She smelled divine though, he had to admit.

"Sookie's a telepath, Drac. She hears human thoughts, but generally blocks them out. Now she is older, like everything else, it's harder. With all these people about, if her shields fail, the number of thoughts bombarding her mind can be overwhelming."

Another groan left Sookie's grinning lips.

"Come, let me take you home," Eric said.

Sookie protested. "No! No! Bubba can do that. You enjoy Drac's company…"

"Wait," interrupted Bella, "I can shield you." With ease, Bella spread her shield around Sookie too.

Immediately, Sookie cracked one pale-blue eye open, and then the other. Her body completely relaxed, along with the crazy smile. "Oh, that's so good, Bella," she said. "My thoughts are all my own again. What a relief! Thank you."

Eric held Sookie's hand, happy to see her happy. "I thank you too, Mrs Cullen," he said, noticing Bella for the first time. "It is indeed our pleasure to have you here."

"Call me Bella," she said. "I'm pleased I could help. Shielding is something I'm good at."

With the crisis over, Sookie encouraged Eric to get back to his fun. "It's not every day you get to meet your idol. You 'boys' go on now. I'll be fine here with Bella for a while."

And so she was. Bella's shield kept Sookie comfortable all night long. The two women sat side by side – one 'young' and one old – looking relaxed in each other's company. If anyone wondered what such an old lady and a young, beautiful vampire could have had in common to talk about, no one mentioned it to them. They would have told them though, that it was all about how to live with the things you couldn't change, and how to live with the things that you could, and working out the difference between the two, and then living with the choices made. Clichéd, but true, nonetheless. They hit it off, just like Eric and Drac.

At the end of the evening, Sookie told Bella, "I must visit the rest room before we leave for home." Bubba was going to drive Sookie and Bella to Bon Temps and Minden respectively, so Eric, the fan-boy, could spend what remained of the night with Drac.

"I'll keep my shield over you," Bella said.

"You can do that?"

Bella nodded.

"That would be wonderful. I haven't had such a peaceful night-out in a long time."

"I'm available day or night," Bella said, with a friendly smile.

As Sookie made her way down the corridor to the rest room, she nearly ran straight into Drac. Or Drac nearly ran straight into her.

Sookie stopped, startled, and looked into Drac's black eyes. They seemed to bore into her own, and then he tried to glamour her. She could feel the magic pressing against her, or rather Bella's, mental shield. "Your scent is divine, old woman," he whispered. "I will bite you, and you will like it, but you will remember nothing. Nothing." He sounded like a second-rate hypnotist, but he meant business. Drac bared his fangs and reared back for the bite.

Sookie didn't have time to make a sound before his mouth descended, but a vampire blur thrust Drac back. His fangs didn't touch her throat. In fact, Drac ended up embedded in the corridor's wall, instead of embedded fang-deep in Sookie's neck. Sookie recognized the 'blur' then. Bella!

"He tried to glamour and bite me," Sookie said.

"I saw," Bella answered, as she pressed Drac further back into the wall. Drac thrashed, but seemed to be getting nowhere, until he shimmered.

"He's going to turn into a bat or a wolf or something. He can do that," explained Sookie.

So Bella bit him. "See how _you_ like being bit," she said, after coming back up, all bloody-mouthed.

Drac didn't like it. He howled, as Bella let him drop out of the wall and onto the floor. Drac clutched the raised, red bite-mark on his throat.

"Don't worry, it won't kill you, Drac, or turn you into a vampire." Bella laughed. "But it might burn like a brand, until your own vampire magic heals it. Or that's the theory, anyway. For all I know, it might burn forever."

Sookie heard Eric's voice, before she saw him, or Bubba. They'd been outside in the car park organizing transport for Drac's coffin to Eric's house. The sound of Drac's howling meant that they arrived on the scene at vamp speed. "What has happened?" Eric demanded, gently tugging Sookie to his side.

Drac moaned, but stayed down. His eyes rolled back in his head.

Sookie answered calmly. "Bella saved me from being bitten by Dracula. That's what happened. She bit him instead."

Bella explained, "I was watching the dancers, when I felt a glamour pushing at the shield I was holding over Sookie. It didn't let up, so I came to investigate fast. I saw Dracula with his fangs out ready to strike. I acted, Sheriff."

"He is lucky it was you taking the action, Bella," said Eric, hugging Sookie closer. "I would have given Dracula his final death." And death would have been warmer than Eric's eyes, when he spoke Dracula's name.

On the floor, Drac still stayed down, shuddering silently now. Then, in some sort of agony, his face twisted into a crazy grimace.

Eric smiled at Drac coldly. Then he teased Sookie, "Still being a trouble magnet after all these years, my wife!" It was quite the joke between them.

Ever the gentleman, Bubba passed Bella a handkerchief. She wiped Drac's blood from her mouth. "Terrible stuff," she declared, pouting.

Sookie chuckled, while glancing down at the terrible-tasting vampire. "Look!" she exclaimed. Sookie saw beauty. "Drac's starting to glisten."

All eyes dropped to the prone figure, now shaking as if an earthquake had hit him and glittering in all the colours of the rainbow.

"It must be my venom in his system!" Bella mused. Suddenly, the glitter sparkled and lit up the corridor, prism-like.

"It's as if he swallowed one of those sparkling disco balls," Sookie said.

Bella nodded at the accurate description, and then laughed. She knew that no matter how pretty the effect, Dracula would feel disgraced, being all sparkly.

"How long will the sparkle last?" Sookie asked.

"Hard to say." Bella shrugged. "Who knew this glittering could happen? It's not even daylight! Our venom's meant to have a permanent effect though. So in Drac's case, if his own vampire magic can't fix it, the sparkling could last and last."

"Forever?" Sookie asked.

"Uh huh! And forever is a very long time," Bella stated, with a twinkle in eye.

* * *

Dracula was not to be seen again … until Dracula Night at Fangtasia, one year on. Where he'd been for that year, Sookie didn't want to guess. Eric gave her a knowing wink.

Sookie, Bella and Edward watched, open-mouthed, from the VIP section, when Drac made his debut appearance, as a glittering disco 'ball'. To please … the crowd, he really sparkled. And he flew high, he flew low, he back-flipped and front-flipped, he twirled and he twisted, as a vampire or a bat or even a wolf, caped or not, all night long.

The crowd went wild, when they finally stripped Drac naked. They had wanted the full dazzling effect, and that's what they got.

_Holy sparkling disco balls,_ thought Sookie, when Drac swooped past low overhead. She flushed. She remembered her words the night Dracula had tried to bite her.

As if reading Sookie's thoughts, Eric whispered to her, "Like sparkling disco balls, you said. Remember? This was all your idea, Sookie! I love it when you think outside the box."

Sookie rolled her eyes.

As Bubba joined them, he had the last word. "I'd love to sparkle like that, but I'd never be able to sneak up and catch me a cat again!"

The End


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